Gas communities to share in $6m fund

The Queensland Gas Company (QGC) has set up a $6 million fund for Surat Basin communities.

It will finance not-for-profit and community groups in the Western Downs, Banana, North Burnett and Gladstone areas, where it is building a multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas project.

QGC spokesman Mark Todd says it is keen to strengthen the livability of those communities.

"A lot of the those places are already great places to live and there's a fantastic sense of community spirit there already," he said.

"We're just looking to do our bit to build on what's already there - the great work people have already done before us and to give people a chance to have a say on how they would like us to work with the community."

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Former treasurer Wayne Swan says that real private sector wages have grown by just 1 per cent under the Abbott and Turnbull governments, which he says equates to only one year of growth under the previous Labor government.